The Mets have a David Peterson problem
Plus, despite being given mountains to climb, the offense is showing positive signs of fighting spirit...
What’s up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets dropped a game by a matter of inches, losing 7-4 to the Padres on Wednesday night (box)
LHP David Peterson struggled yet again, allowing six earned runs - including a back-breaking grand slam
In what was a two-run ballgame, RF Juan Soto was inches away from tying the game with a two-run opposite field blast, but his effort dropped in just shy of the foul pole
Soto did homer earlier in the game, tying his career-high with 41. 1B Pete Alonso, DH Starling Marte, and C Francisco Alvarez also all hit home runs in the game
3B Brett Baty enjoyed another big night at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a double and two singles
RHP Dom Hamel made his MLB debut - becoming the 46th different pitcher used by the Mets this year, a new MLB record - and tossed one inning of scoreless relief
Citi Field officially reached 3 million fans for the season on Wednesday night for the first time since the ballpark opened in 2009
Roster Moves 📰
C Luis Torrens returned from rehab assignment and reinstated from the 10-Day Injured List
C Hayden Senger optioned to Triple-A Syracuse
The Just Mets Podcast 🎙️
This week on the podcast, in a special bonus episode, MLB Network insider Jon Morosi joined Rich MacLeod to talk about the Mets playoff chances, as well as the major changes that could be coming after what has been a disappointing regular season.
Playoff Race 🏁
The Cubs clinched a Wild Card spot on Wednesday, meaning there are just two Wild Card berths left up for grabs in the National League.
Following their loss on Wednesday, the Mets remain a full five games behind the Padres for the second Wild Card spot.
Meanwhile, the Reds beat the Cardinals and the Giants beat the Diamondbacks on Wednesday, meaning that the Mets are 1.5 games ahead of Arizona, and two games ahead of both Cincinnati and San Francisco for the final Wild Card spot.
Tiebreakers:
Mets own the tiebreaker against the Giants - if they finish with identical records, the Mets would finish with the higher seed or eliminate the Giants
Mets do not own the tiebreaker against the Reds - if they finish with identical records, the Reds would win the higher seed or eliminate the Mets
Mets and Diamondbacks finished their season series tied, but the Diamondbacks currently have a better record against their own division than the Mets do, so they would either finish with the higher seed or eliminate the Mets
Mets own the tiebreaker against the Cardinals - if they finish with identical records, the Mets would finish with the higher seed or eliminate the Cardinals
Per Fangraphs, the Mets have a 81.5% chance of making the 2025 playoffs, down from 86.2% on Wednesday.
Play of the Game 🫠
The Mets were playing from behind the eight-ball for the majority of this game thanks to another rough start by David Peterson.
Therefore, we could have easily selected the grand slam given up by Peterson as today’s POTG given how big a moment that was.
However, with that said, the offense clawed its way back into the game, and there was a golden opportunity for the Mets to tie the game late.
That brings us to today’s actual Play of the Game.
In the bottom of the seventh with no outs and a runner on second, Juan Soto stepped to the plate with a chance to come through in a monster spot.
And he so nearly did.
After working a 2-2 count, Soto ripped what looked to be his second home run of the night. However, the ball hooked inches foul at the last moment, and Soto would end up striking out.
In a game of mere inches, Soto’s missed homer ultimately proved to be the difference as San Diego held on for the win.
Who’s Hot? 🥵
RF Juan Soto has now tied his career-high with 41 home runs on the year. He’s on pace for 123 runs, 106 RBIs, 150 hits, 127 walks, 19 doubles, 44 homers, and 34 stolen bases
1B Pete Alonso has now homered in three straight games and is hitting .292/.308/.667/.974 over his last six games
3B Brett Baty is hitting .309/.373/.503/.877 with five doubles, eight home runs, 16 walks, and 17 RBIs since the All-Star break
Who’s Cold? 🥶
LHP David Peterson owns a 7.59 ERA over his last eight starts, allowing a total of 34 earned runs over that span
Over his last six games, 2B Jeff McNeil is hitting just .053/.143/.105/.248 with four strikeouts and one extra-base hit
Down on the Farm 🌾
OF Carson Benge (No. 1 prospect, Triple-A): 1-for-4, HR, RBI, BB
LF José Azocar (Triple-A): 2-for-5, R, RBI
SS Yonny Hernández (Triple-A): 3-for-4, 2B
SCORES
Triple-A SYR
Today’s Game 🗓️
Match-up: Mets (78-74) vs. Padres (83-69)
Where: Citi Field - Flushing, NY
Starters: RHP Jonah Tong (1-2, 8.49 ERA) vs. RHP Randy Vásquez (5-6, 3.72 ERA)
When: 1:10 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY | MLBN (Out-of-market only)
A Peterson problem, and an offensive reason for hope…✍️
Wednesday’s loss was another big kick in the groin. Man, this team just refuses to make life easy for itself.
Emerging from the game itself was a really troubling trend that continues to head in the wrong direction. But because all I’ve written about lately is losses, I want to focus on one positive too.
Let’s start with the negative, though…
What the hell is going on with David Peterson?!
The once-reliable, innings-eating machine has morphed into an unreliable liability on the mound for the Mets.
Since appearing in his first All-Star Game, Peterson has a 5.71 ERA over 11 starts. To shrink the sample size slightly, he’s pitched to a bloated 7.58 ERA since Aug. 6.
And after being shelled for six earned runs in his latest start on Wednesday, including giving up a back-breaking grand slam to Manny Machado in the fifth inning, Peterson has allowed a total of 34 earned runs over his last eight starts.
Yeah, that’s not what you want.
At this point, the coaching staff just can’t trust Peterson to start a playoff game in October. If they do, they are almost asking for trouble.
Peterson looked gassed out there on Wednesday, and he also looks devoid of any confidence. That in itself is more than troubling.
It is even more concerning when you go back and look at how dominant Peterson was prior to the All-Star break. He emerged as the real anchor of an unstable bullpen, guaranteeing the Mets both quantity and quality every single start.
In other words, he had morphed into the kind of big-innings ace that this team so badly craved.
Now, Peterson looks like the pitcher who has struggled to put together a full season of quality in previous years. He almost looks broken right now.
More importantly, he’s costing this team games at a time when every loss could well prove to be a knockout blow. Take last night for instance. As a result of that loss, the Mets saw their Wild Card lead shrink back to just 1.5 games.
With just 10 games remaining, there is no time for Peterson to fix whatever has gone wrong since the All-Star break. He needs to get back to the ace-level pitcher he was in the first half of the season right now.
There is simply no time to waste anymore.
Of course, it isn’t all on Peterson. The fact that Dom Hamel became the 46th pitcher to be used by the Mets this year when he made his debut on Wednesday - a new MLB record, by the way - tells you all you need to know about the state of this rotation.
With that said, Peterson’s rapid decline has arguably hurt the Mets the most. He was the only starter going deep into games, and the only starter able to offer any semblance of consistency start after start.
Now Peterson has plunged off a cliff, it has fallen on the three rookies to carry this rotation. And, as I and others have stressed before, you can’t rely on the likes of Nolan McLean and Brandon Sproat to be the aces of the staff in the playoffs in their rookie seasons. That isn’t a strategy, that’s throwing a Hail Mary with no time left and hoping it works out.
The Mets still have a lot of work to do if they are to even punch their postseason ticket, and even more work to do if they want to survive the Wild Card round.
And, unless Peterson can rediscover the magic that made him one of the best pitchers in baseball before the All-Star break, that task seemingly becomes even harder.
Furthermore, if Peterson continues to falter and can’t be trusted in October, that will leave a gaping hole in the rotation that I’m not sure can be filled just by the rookies.
The Mets salvaging their season hinges on Peterson being markedly better. Period.
Okay, time for a quick positive.
At least the offense is showing signs of life.
Yes, that hardly matters when your starting pitcher gives you the mountain twice the size of Mount Everest to climb.
But still, if you want to hang your hat on anything positive with this team right now, it is how this offense is doing everything it can to stay in the game on a night-to-night basis.
Brett Baty has quietly established himself as a reliable and consistent big leaguer since the All-Star break. Juan Soto has been playing at an MVP level for a while now and tied his career-high in homers with his 41st home run last night. And Pete Alonso has now homered in three straight games and looks like the player who repeatedly saved the Mets’ bacon in last year’s playoffs.
And, were it not for a couple of inches, Soto would have made it a tied game with his second homer of the night. When you are in a desperate spot, luck seems to be in short supply.
Sure, there are still question marks in that lineup but, overall, that offense currently looks like a unit that can make some real noise in October.
Hitting four home runs in a single game should be enough to clinch victory, although the RISP problem remains with the offense going 0-for-5 on Wednesday, leaving seven runners stranded.
However, all in all, you can’t ask for much more from this lineup right now. Maybe if Soto, Alonso, and Francisco Lindor can find another level to unlock then, yeah, that would be nice. But, as we enter the stretch run, this offense is doing its job for the most part.
They are showing some fight at a time when the Mets will need to scratch and claw their way to every single win in order just to make the playoffs.
Now the starting rotation needs to show some of the same qualities.
Around the League 🚩
The Cubs will be in the postseason for the first time since 2020 after clinching a Wild Card spot with an 8-4 win over the Pirates
The Red Sox earned their 11th walk-off win of the year, beating the Athletics, 5-4
DH Shohei Ohtani hit his 51st home run of the year as the Dodgers shutout the Phillies, 5-0
CF Trent Grisham finished with two homers and four RBIs as the Yankees beat the Twins, 10-5
RHP Justin Verlander delivered a gem with seven scoreless innings to help the Giants beat the D-backs, 5-1
Yeah, they hit 4 HRs ... all with the bases empty. Manny's dinger, however, came with nifty gifts .... 1 runner on via a BB, 1 runner on via a hit batter, 1 runner on via a bunt single. It's been a trend.
Inches away from a possible win. Peterson needs to skip a turn as he hit the wall a month ago. You can't give up 6 runsas a starter and expect a W!